Investing.com - Asian markets were mixed in morning trade on Friday. Chinese stocks rose even after data showed the official manufacturing PMI for May fell more than expected.
The Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component edged up 0.1% and 0.2% respectively by 10:30 PM ET (02:30 GMT). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.4%.
China’s official manufacturing PMI for the month of May fell to 49.4 from 50.1 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Analysts previously expected the figure to drop to 49.9 in May.
A reading below 50 indicates a contraction.
The service PMI for May was 54.3, in line with expectations and unchanged from April.
The weaker-than-expected data came amid the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China. Former governor of the People’s Bank of China Dai Xianglong said on Friday that he expected no major trade breakthrough when Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump next month at the G-20 meeting.
Citing people familiar with the matter, a Bloomberg report said China has halted purchases of American soybeans and is not expected to resume buying due to the disagreement over trade.
Earlier this week, China threatened to cut off its rare earth supply to the U.S. following Trump’s decision to blacklist Chinese telecom giant Huawei.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9%. Government data showed the country’s retail sales rose 0.5% in April from a year earlier, compared with the expected 0.8% increase.
Separate data also showed the country’s industrial output rose 0.6% from the previous month, compared with a 0.2% increase expected by analysts.
The jobless rate fell to 2.4% in April, in line with expectations.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.2%. The Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged at 1.75% as expected.
Down under, Australia’s ASX fell 0.1%.